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The Ultimate Fighting Championship has confirmed it will film an Australian edition of its hit reality television series The Ultimate Fighter, giving Aussie and British mixed martial artists the opportunity to secure a lucrative contract with the world’s preeminent mixed martial arts (MMA) organization.
Registration is now open to all aspiring UFC fighters from Australia and the UK. Prospective competitors should visit www.au.ufc.com/TUFForm (Aus) or www.uk.ufc.com/TUFForm (UK) for registration forms, rules and qualification criteria. The live tryouts, scheduled for June 12 in Sydney and June 15 in London, will be open to fighters ranging in weight from 61 to 77 kilograms (135 to 170 pounds). Participants must be between 21 and 35 years of age and have had at least three verified professional fights (having won two).

Jon Jones will defend his light heavyweight title for the fourth time at UFC 151.
“Bones” will square off with former Strikeforce champion Dan Henderson at the Sept. 1 event, according to a statement recently released by promotion officials. UFC 151 will take place in Las Vegas, though a specific venue for the show has not yet been announced

August's UFC on FOX 4 lineup has added a pair of heavyweight fights.
They include Matt Mitrione (5-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC), who looks to rebound from his first career loss when he meets British fighter Rob Broughton (15-7-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC), as well as English fighters Oli Thompson (9-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) vs. Phil De Fries (8-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC).
UFC officials today confirmed the matchups.
UFC on FOX 4 takes place Aug. 4 at Los Angeles' Staples Center. The main card, including a Brian Stann vs. Hector Lombard headliner, airs on FOX. Today's new additions are likely to be part of the preliminary card, which is expected to air on FUEL TV and stream on Facebook.

Chris Lytle's Indiana Senate run came up a bit short.
Lytle, who retired from the UFC this past year after a long and productive fighting career, lost the Republican bid for a state Senate nomination in District 28.
In Tuesday's three-horse race, Lytle (30 percent of the vote) finished behind winner Mike Crider (41 percent) but ahead of John Merlau (29 percent).
"Almost," Lytle tweeted on Tuesday after the vote tallies. "I finished 2nd. It was a good fight."

Dodson broke his hand in the opening round, and literally had to fight with one less weapon for the majority of the fight.
The injury occurred early in the first round. As he goes back and watches the fight now, Dodson knows exactly where it happened.
“It happened in the first round. I re-watched it. It happened at like 2 minutes, 24 seconds into the fight, and I hit him with that overhand left and I tried to double up on it with two punches. I couldn’t make a fist anymore,” Dodson told MMAWeekly Radio following the fight.
“I was trying to make a fist in my glove and it wasn’t working out too well. I even told Greg (Jackson) after the first, ‘I think I broke my hand.’ He goes, ‘punch him with it,’ and I was like cool.”

Although he won't fight UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, Urijah Faber will get to fight for a title.
A replacement opponent hasn't been determined, but UFC president Dana White today said Faber will fight the UFC's interim bantamweight title in July at UFC 148.
Cruz bowed out of the fight earlier this week after tearing his ACL, though White said he'll remain a coach on "The Ultimate Fighter: Live."
UFC 148 takes place July 7 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view, and FX and Facebook are expected to carry the prelims. Cruz (19-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) vs. Faber (26-5 MMA, 2-1 UFC) III originally was expected to take the headlining slot of the event, but logistical issues forced the move of Anderson Silva (31-4 MMA, 14-0 UFC) vs. Chael Sonnen (27-11-1 MMA, 6-4 UFC) II from UFC 147 to the UFC 148 main-event slot.

Former top UFC fighter Nate Marquardt will finally make his Strikeforce and welterweight debut in July, and it will be in a title matchup. He will compete for Nick Diaz's old Strikeforce welterweight championship against a SF veteran, Tyron Woodley. MMA Weekly has it:
The main event for the upcoming Strikeforce event in July is almost set as Nate Marquardt will make his promotional debut against Tyron Woodley with the vacant welterweight title on the line.
Sources close to the match-up confirmed the fight to MMA Weekly on Monday with verbal agreements in place for the July showdown.

This is only a rumour. Not official. So don't get too excited/emotional.
Phytegurus.com has confirmed with sources close to the event that The Ultimate Fighter Coach Dominic Cruz (19-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) is pulling out of the much anticipated UFC 148 fight with Urijah Faber (26-5 MMA, 2-1 UFC) due to a torn ACL.
It is still unknown if there is or will be a replacement fighter for Faber or if this fight will still maintain the Co-Main Event status.
UFC 148 has become a huge card recently adding UFC Middleweight Champ Anderson Silva’s (31-4 MMA, 14-0 UFC) rematch with Chael Sonnen (27-11-1 MMA, 6-4 UFC).

Rafael "Sapo" Natal (14-3-1 MMA, 2-1-1 UFC) and Tom DeBlass (7-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) have been added to July's UFC on FUEL TV 4 event, both against opponents yet to be determined.
That's the word from the pair's team at Dominance MMA Management, who today tweeted the bookings.
As previously reported, UFC on FUEL TV 4 takes place July 11 at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. Broadcast plans for the event haven't been announced, but main-card action airs on FUEL TV.
It's currently unknown if either fighter will compete on the evening's main card, and UFC execs have yet to officially announce opponents for either fighter.

Nate Diaz scored a big win at UFC on Fox 3, submitting Jim Miller in the second round of the main event. Immediately after the bout, Diaz showed excellent sportsmanship. He pointed to Miller's shirt and said to the camera, "Buy those shirts! Support the cause!"
Diaz was referring to Miller's walkout shirt and his nephew. Miller's infant nephew Danny has polycystic kidney disease, and $10 of every walkout shirt sold will be donated to the Danny Miller Foundation to help him and other children with kidney disease. Several UFC fighters have donated memorabilia to auction off to get Danny closer to a kidney transplant, but the family still needs help.
Diaz knew that, and pushed his opponent's cause on national, network television.

My boy Almeida scored it in favour of my boy Koscheck!!!
In the co-main event last evening at UFC on FOX 3, welterweight contenders Josh Koscheck and Johny Hendricks fought in a closely-contested affair that marked the first time two NCAA Division I national champions fought in the UFC.
Hendricks was ultimately declared the winner, but only by split decision. Judges Jeff Blatnick and Cardo Urso scored the bout 29-28 for Hendricks. The dissenting judge who scored it 29-28 for Koscheck? Former UFC middleweight and welterweight contender and now retired fighter Ricardo Almeida.
It'd be a stretch to call scoring the fight for Koscheck irresponsible or evidence of poor judging, although there's not much of a quantitative defense for Koscheck. Still, judging is a qualitative endeavor and one hampered by vantage point, biases both ingrained or innocuous and the limits of one's ability to draw defensible conclusions about athletic performance. By the very nature of how judging is administered, a difference of opinion in close contests among those qualified to score MMA at the highest professional levels is inevitable. A score for Koscheck isn't bad even if it isn't ultimately the most defensible position to take.

UFC on FOX 3: "Diaz vs. Miller" from the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, has officially wrapped, which means it's time for those select fighters who went above and beyond in their respective fights to get a little extra grease for their efforts.
To the tune of $65,000 each.
The promotion dished out its standard post-fight monetary bonuses to four out of the 22 fighters on the card, and it's probably no surprise who's headed home with a second sack of simoleons.
Knockout of the Night -- Lavar Johnson
Submission of the Night -- Nate Diaz
Fight of the Night -- Louis Gaudinot vs. John Lineker

Nate Diaz is your next lightweight No. 1 contender.
UFC president Dana White confirmed at Saturday night's UFC on FOX 3 post-event press conference that Diaz did indeed earn a shot at the 155-pound title with his win over Jim Miller.
And while there were reports that Anthony Pettis might still stand in Diaz's path to a title shot, White said Diaz was offered and agreed to stay on the sidelines until he can face the winner of Benson Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar II, which takes place later this year.
White first promised Diaz a title shot during a conference call this past Wednesday. However at a pre-event press conference the following day, he put a little doubt on the potential when he admitted he didn't realize how long of a layoff that would mean for Diaz, with Henderson and Edgar tentatively scheduled to fight in August.

Jon Jones' next title defense likely will come in early September.
Earlier this week, UFC president Dana White said the UFC's light-heavyweight champion is expected to meet No. 1 contender Dan Henderson on Labor Day weekend.
Although no event has been announced, that'd mean a possible Sept. 1 date, likely as UFC 151.
Labor Day is Sept. 3. If UFC 151 takes place Sept. 1, it'll come three weeks after UFC 150 in Denver and three weeks prior to UFC 152 in Toronto.
At a press conference this past month, White said Jones (16-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) vs. Henderson (29-8 MMA, 5-2 UFC) was a possibility for UFC 149, which takes place July 21 at Calgary's Scotiabank Saddledome. However, during a meeting with reporters earlier this week, White said the title fight now is expected at the later date, likely to give Jones some rest and recovery after a busy 2011 and early-2012 campaign.

Jim Miller will carry a heavy heart into Saturday's UFC on FOX 3 headliner with fellow lightweight Nate Diaz.
But it'll be covered on his way to the cage with a TapouT walkout shirt he hopes will raise some serious funds for his nephew's foundation.
Miller, who fights in his home state for Saturday's network-televised event, and clothing giant TapouT are donating $10 from every shirt sold to a foundation set up for brother and fellow UFC fighter Dan's young son.
"We did a signature limited-edition T-shirt with TapouT, and they were generous enough to donate at least $10 per shirt to my nephew's foundation, the Daniel James Miller Foundation," Miller said of the project.
The DJM Foundation is named after "Danny," who was born to Dan and Kristin Miller in January 2010 with autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (PKD). He undergoes daily dialysis and physical therapy after losing all kidney function. An upcoming kidney transplant is scheduled, but Danny will remain on costly anti-rejection medication for the remainder of his life.
The foundation has been set up to help with the costs of the transplant and medication, which aren't covered by insurance. The UFC was one of the first supporters of the foundation, and now TapouT has lent its support...

So it turns out there was something to those rumblings of Gilbert Melendez (20-2 MMA, 10-1 SF) vs. B.J. Penn (16-8-2 MMA, 12-7-2 UFC) for the Strikeforce lightweight title, after all.
Following today's pre-UFC on FOX 3 press conference in New York City, White revealed he tried to put the fight together but was rebuffed by Penn, ultimately leading to Melendez vs. Josh Thomson III on May 19.
White said Penn simply wasn't up for a fight at that time, though things have since changed. The UFC boss said Penn could be back sooner rather than later, and it will be at 170 pounds.
"I tried to do [Melendez vs. Penn], but it was at the time when B.J. was like, 'Yeah, I'm not fighting for a while,'" White told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
"In October, former UFC champion Penn suffered a one-sided loss to Nick Diaz, prompting "The Prodigy" to call it quits at the conclusion of the fight. Penn has yet to publicly commit to another fight, but as he did less than two weeks ago, White insists things are different behind the scenes.
"He wants to come back," White said of Penn.
While most MMA pundits believe Penn, who has held titles at both 155 pounds and 170 pounds, is best suited for the lightweight division, White said Penn will make his return at welterweight.

A temporary suspension in Nevada has not prevented Nick Diaz from obtaining a second's license in New Jersey.
Diaz was approved this past week to corner his younger brother, Nate Diaz, in the main event of UFC on FOX 3, which takes place Saturday at IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J.
"Had [the suspension] been finalized, we may have looked at it differently," New Jersey State Athletic Control Board legal counsel Nick Lembo today told MMAjunkie.com. "But at this point, the matter is under review."

Saturday's UFC on FOX 3 dark matches will be available, after all.
After initially planning for the fights to be available only to those in attendance at the weekend's network-televised events, officials today announced the show's first two bouts now will stream live on Facebook.
The bouts include bantamweights Roland Delorme (7-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) vs. Nick Denis (11-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and middleweights Karlos Vemola (8-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) vs. Mike Massenzio (13-6 MMA, 2-4 UFC).
UFC on FOX 3 takes place at IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J. FOX airs four main-card bouts, and the remaining six prelims air on FUEL TV.